Intelligence 1

Question 1

define intelligence

Answer 1

the capacity for abstract, logic, critical thinking

Question 2

What does IQ stand for?

Answer 2

Intelligence Quotient

Question 3

What does IQ mean?

Answer 3

an index of an individual’s intelligence score

Question 4

How is IQ measured?

Answer 4

• verbal test
• non-verbal test

Question 5

What is an advantage of non-verbal IQ tests

Answer 5

eliminates issues with:
- language
- verbal abilities
- cultural differences

Question 6

What is the psychological debate surrounding intelligence?

Answer 6

nature vs nurture

whether or not intelligence is inherited or learned from our environment

Question 7

What are some main issues with the history of studying intelligence?

Answer 7

• flawed, racist background
• Cyril Burt advised British government to use aptitude test to determine which children go to grammar schools
• his research suggested occupational levels and social class are due to innate levels of intelligence
• found that most of his arguments were fabricated

Question 8

Give an example of non-verbal IQ test

Answer 8

• Raven’s progressive matrices

Question 9

Define Genotype

Answer 9

genetic makeup of an organism

Question 10

Define phenotype

Answer 10

the physical characteristic of an organism

• influenced by both genotype and environment
• this can be measured

Question 11

What does degree to genetic relatedness do?

Answer 11

looking at people with various degrees of relatedness gives understanding of genetic basis of a concept

how far genetic play a role in basis of a concept

Question 12

How can you investigate genetic relatedness?

Answer 12

twin studies

Question 13

Define polygenic

Answer 13

a characteristic or trait determined by the interaction of more than two genes

Question 14

What evidence is there to suggest intelligence is genetically determined?

Answer 14

• intelligence scores form a normal distribution curve
• meaning bell shaped curve is formed where majority of population is the mean score
• the pattern is known as polygenic feature
• polygenic feature is seen in genetically determined characteristic i.e.: height
• suggesting intelligence is genetically determined

Question 15

Why is the normal distribution of intelligence flawed?

Answer 15

the definition of intelligence is atheoretical

Question 16

Define ‘atheoretical definition of intelligence’

Answer 16

intelligence is what IQ tests measure
HOWEVER
there is no theory of intelligence that will determine what questions should be included in an IQ test

intelligence tests constructed based on how people perform in those tests

results from these are then taken to create a definition of what intelligence is

Question 17

what is a positive about the IQ tests with testing intelligence?

Answer 17

IQ tests have high correlation with each other suggesting they are a valid way of measuring intelligence

Question 18

What are two different types of theories about intelligence?

Answer 18

1. intelligence is a single construct
2. intelligence is a multiple construct

Question 19

What does it mean for intelligence to be a single construct?

Answer 19

• idea that intelligence is a single construct that influences all cognitive functioning
• shown through correlations of performance on different tests

Question 20

What does it mean for intelligence to be a multiple construct?

Answer 20

split intelligence into two types:
- fluid intelligence
- crystalized intelligence

Question 21

define fluid intelligence

Answer 21

idea of cognitive functioning is not influenced by environment, it’s fixed throughout lifetime

• innate ability with things like problem solving etc.
• born with abilities, unchangeable

Question 22

define crystallized intelligence

Answer 22

refers to intelligence that an change throughout lifetime

i.e.: could refer to stored factual information, benefits from schooling

these are your lived experiences that will contribute to how intelligent you are

Question 23

How would you investigate to understand whether intelligence is determined by genes or the environment?

Answer 23

• by looking at individuals with various degrees of relatedness
• then seeing how much IQ’s correlate

Question 24

Outline Bouchard & McGue (1981) study into intelligence and genetic/environmental relatedness
(twin study)

Answer 24

• 4,672 pairs of twins

(identical twins) genetic
- identical twins, shared same environment and same DNA
- found very high correlation in their IQ scores (0.9 correlation score)
- suggests there is a really strong genetic component to IQ

(identical twins) environmental difference
- also looked at identical twins raised apart (different environment)
- found a high correlation (0.72)

(non-identical twins) genetic
- share around 50% of DNA
- twins that were raised together
- found high correlation (0.60) in IQ scores

(non-identical twins) environmental
- looked at non-identical siblings raised apart
- here we see a very low correlation of 0.24

also found adopted children (genetically unrelated) children have a higher correlation in IQ test scores compared to

Question 25

What environmental factors influence intelligence?

Answer 25

- environment in mother's womb - family environment - an enriched, stimulating environment correlates with IQ

Question 26

Explain environment in mother's womb as an influence on intelligence

Answer 26

- mother's overall health and lifestyle may have effect on foetus development - poor health and lifestyle choices include: smoking, drinking, substance abuse these can have effects on foetus development

Question 27

Outline Elardo et al (1975) study that investigates family environment as an influence intelligence

Answer 27

- wanted to look at whether the quality of the environment in an early age would affect development of intelligence in children - in 1970's it was thought mothers are responsible for children - so when looking at family, we look at what mothers do so Elardo measured: - when speaking to children, whether mother's voice conveys positive feeling - how much mothers structure child's play periods - how often mothers read stories, verbalize with them - children were observed at 6 months and 24 months - these children had their IQ tested at 3 years and 4.5 years - rating of family (extent mother facilitates cognitive development) when child was aged 24 months correlated with IQ at 3 years old - high correlation was found (0.7) suggests role of family environment does influence intelligence - rating of family (extent mother facilitates cognitive development) when child was aged 6 months with IQ at 4.5 years - quite strong correlation was found (0.44) supports idea that environment and how much the parent is affecting the child's IQ scores

Question 28

What does a covariance between inheritance and environment refer to?

Answer 28

the idea that a child is intelligent because they inherited this genetically from their parents OR because parents are intelligent, they create an enriching, stimulating environment that aids their cognitive development

Question 29

What does transactional process refer to with regards to intelligence?

Answer 29

the idea that intelligent children elicit intelligent responses that could potentially feed their own development further essentially, child is feeding their own intelligence

Question 29

What does transactional process and covariance between inheritance and environment make difficult?

Answer 29

makes the ability to distinguish whether it is genetics or environmental factors that are really influencing intelligence

Question 30

Outline Benton and Roberts (1988) study into diet and nutrition influencing intelligence

Answer 30

- studied 6 yr old children - 50% of sample took a vitamin supplement everyday for 3 months - 50% took placebo - IQ was measured before and after study FINDINGS - children in experimental group (supplement) had a greater IQ compared to control (placebo) suggesting diet does influence intelligence

Question 31

Outline Owen et al (2010) study into IQ and cognitive training

Answer 31

- had 11,430 ppts - ppts took part in different tasks involved in cognitive training - these tasks tested 5 different cognitive domains: Reasoning, Memory, Planning, Visuospatial skills and Attention - did these tests repeatedly over 6 week training period FINDINGS - ppts became better at cognitive tasks they trained on - these effects did not generalise to other everyday cognition

Question 32

What does the confluence model (Zajonc, 1976) suggest about IQ and birth order?

Answer 32

- model suggests that first born children spend more time with intelligent adults - as number of siblings increase, children spend more time with each other - the interactions between children are not as stimulating as the ones between child and adult

Question 33

What does the dilution model (Blake, 1981) suggest about IQ and birth order?

Answer 33

- same idea as confluence model - first/only child spends significant time with adults, getting more attention - number of siblings increase = parents time spent with each child decreases - creates a less stimulating environment for younger children

Question 34

What is the Flynn Effect?

Answer 34

- this is the idea that IQ increases overtime - generation by generation, we become smarter - IQ overall increases

Question 35

What is the Flynn Effect?

Answer 35

- this is the idea that IQ increases overtime - generation by generation, we become smarter - IQ overall increases

Question 36

What evidence is there for the Flynn Effect?

Answer 36

education, supportive parenting styles have improved over the years supporting the idea that overtime, by generations, we become smarter (more intelligent) Suggests there is a strong environmental component to intelligence